Daily News

Owner of Chili’s Bar and Grill Improves Customer Experience

As most marketers know, customer experience is extremely important in the current environment. Customers want convenience, ease of access, perks, and simplicity at every touchpoint. Because of this fact, Loyalty360 is excited when brands figure out how to provide this kind of experience to their customers. In a recent partnership move, the owner of Chili’s Bar and Grill and Maggiano’s Little Italy, Brinker International, has committed to doing just that.

Brinker has recently entered into an exclusive agreement with DoorDash, the nation’s largest on-demand destination for door-to-door delivery, to deliver Chili’s menu items to guests from more than 1,000 participating restaurants across the country.

“We chose DoorDash as an exclusive partner because they have a leading market share in areas where Chili’s restaurants are located,” says Wyman Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of Brinker and President of Chili’s. “While we tested delivery with several partners, DoorDash integrated seamlessly into our operations, demonstrated the ability to drive incremental sales, and provided a consistent guest experience. DoorDash shares our vision of a ‘win-win’ partnership based on sustainable economics, digital leadership, and a constant stream of innovation. Together with DoorDash we can deliver Chili’s favorites to guests wherever they are.”

Chili’s has generated more than $330 million in annual off-premise sales at corporate-owned restaurants, which contributed to approximately 13 percent of the brand’s total sales in the United States in 2018. The brand also grew to-go business by 17.2 percent in the third quarter of last year. Over the past few years, to improve its off-premise strategy, Chili’s launched a highly rated mobile and web application for online ordering, improved to-go packaging, and built integrated direct marketing capabilities for its more than 6 million guests that have joined the My Chili’s Rewards loyalty program.

Chili’s exclusive partnership with DoorDash will build on this momentum. Chili’s expects its national partnership with DoorDash to accelerate its omnichannel leadership, drive continued sales growth, and further strengthen the brand for the next generation of customers. In test markets, Chili’s program members showed a high demand and positive response for DoorDash delivery, which resulted in significant incremental off-premise sales growth.

Because of this, Chili’s and DoorDash have integrated their systems so that DoorDash orders are sent directly to the Chili’s POS system. This ensures a better experience for guests and team members. POS integrations enable DoorDash to sign up and scale restaurants at a faster pace, and guests can expect additional Chili’s restaurants to offer delivery with DoorDash in the near future.

“DoorDash is honored to be named as the exclusive delivery partner for Chili’s and Maggiano’s, pairing our best-in-class operations and commitment to quality with America’s most iconic brands,” says Toby Espinosa, Vice President of Business Development at DoorDash. “Chili’s is renowned for their fresh, bold menu items and high-quality guest experience, and we’re excited to see how our partnership grows as we connect loyal diners to great food, service, and convenience.”